Archive for the ‘art’ Category

I learned a long time ago that it helped me to voice my displeasure, and satisfaction, with customer service. It allow me to let it go, and sometimes it allows things to change because the hearer of my compliant or compliment pays attention.

Celestial Seasonings pays attention 🙂

I wrote to Celestial Seasonings a while ago about their new marketing campaign that eliminated the traditional art work on the boxes for a newer, fresher design. I didn’t like it. I have been a fan of the traditional art for years. And years. And Y E A R S. So I wrote and told them I didn’t like the switch.

Apparently, I was not alone 😀

They have switched back. “The Magic is Back” as they say, and I’m pleased that they have listened to the customer base and switched back. The tea never changed, so this isn’t like the New Coke/Old Coke fiasco. This is just about the image. I was surprised that I got a letter from their General Manager, announcing the change and thanking me for commenting.

Wow. Not only did they listen, not only did they change, but they remembered those who commented and wrote them. Pretty attentive marketing there!

So how enthusiastic am I about the brand?

I have their magnets on the door of my refrigerator.

I have turned coasters into art above the vestibule of the kitchen.

I have turned box tops into kitchen art work.

I have turned postcards into framed art in the kitchen.

And I have three mugs I use for drink and decoration.

Customer for life? You betcha. Remember this? You betcha. Will continue to voice both concerns and compliments? Dang straight I will!

I took the opportunity to venture into DC on a hot, sweltering day last month (as opposed to the hot sweltering days of this month…whew!) to see an exhibit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Entitled “She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World” it was an interesting and thought-provoking exhibit. There were several that substantially caught my eye, but one in particular made me think about this blog.

I don’t typically invite a reader into the blog itself, but in this case I want to. I want you to look at the picture, and decide what you see and what you think before reading further.

I can wait. Take your time and look at it. What is your reaction to it? What do you think of her, about what she’s saying?

I sat on the divan in the exhibit hall and thought about it, thought about what the photographer wanted to say, thought of the different ways the picture could be interpreted, the different ways of seeing it.

***********************************************************

She is desecrating the American flag by using it as her head covering, treating the symbol of our country like a piece of clothing. It shows the disregard she has for America, the contempt with which the Muslims view us. To them it is nothing more than a scrap of fabric that they are using to repress and oppress their own people while thumbing their nose at the US at the same time.

***********************************************************

She wears the flag as hajib to honor the flag, to show her love for her new country that allows her to express her faith. A country that allows her to wear a hajib or not, to not be forced into a bur qua and silenced. She wears it to grant it great honor as a piece of her faith that is now linked to her new country.

***********************************************************

There is a wonderful contrast in color and brightness between the dark background and the colorfully highlighted complexion of the girl. The drape of the cloth emphasizes that color as well as the shifting the shape of her face and making it more angular.

***********************************************************

Which did you see?

It’s interesting because we frequently see what either we want to see, or what we expect to see. If you see animus with a type of people, with a different faith, if you have a view of them vs. us, then that is what you see; the first view rings true. If you see the harmony of people, the acceptance of faiths (or lack there-of), the inclusion of others into a melting pot of integration and connection, then that is what you see; the second view. You might even view it outside of the political/religious framework, as purely art with texture, composition, color and shading.

Which did you see? Which can you see now?

I admit I saw the third view first. I saw it as art. It was then that I realized how many people would view it like the first view, as dishonorable, and how sad I felt for them that such a beautiful woman, such a beautiful shot, should be abused by some that way. And then it dawned on me that there was yet another way of viewing it, as honoring God and Country in the second view. Later I learned that my thought process was exactly what the photographer was attempting; it came to me without having read any of the material about the series. She did a stellar job, given that a left brained engineer saw it and wondered the questions she wanted me to wonder, moved me to see the differences.

I hope they move you, too.

The picture was done by Boushra Almutawakel , a Yemeni, in response to the terrorist events of September 11, 2001.

Sometimes I find topics that just appeal to my aesthetics. It happened with the post on the snails . And it happened with a recent article about an exhibit at the Gateway Gallery at Dulles International Airport. Have you ever thought that an art show, or that artistically gorgeous shots, would come from…..the National Institutes of Health? Or would be displayed at …an airport?

Well, neither did I. The colors are dyes or graphic enhancements, but combined with Mother Natures wonderful structure produce some stunning works of art. I’ve included a couple of the shots, but check out the link for all the gorgeous images!

I like this one because of the colors and the textures, as though it should be in some fantasy otherworldly home of elves and other fantastical creatures.

This one conjures an image of an ancient civilization, or perhaps a variation on an ancient Egyptian deity or middle eastern kingdom art.